Zoids: New Century
Zoids: New Century Zero, or Zoids: New Century/Zero (ゾイド新世紀／ゼロ Zoido Shinseiki Surasshu Zero), is an anime television series created by Makoto Mizobuchi in 2001 by Shogakukan, Inc. It is the third Zoids series created, based on the range of mecha models produced by TOMY. The series has been dubbed and released to the US (The UK, however, was shown the Zoids: Chaotic Century anime first, which is the correct order), and was the first Zoids series to be dubbed in English. The series has 26 episodes that run for an average of 25 minutes. In the western version, this series was called "New Century", with the "slash zero" removed. Series background New Century Zero is set in a timeline independent of other Zoid series, although it is implied that it is a distant sequel to Zoids: Guardian Force. (It is said in New Century Episode 31 that before Zoids were used in competitive battles that they were used in war). In the New Century timeline, Zoids are no longer used for warfare; instead they participate in a series of competitive battles, run by the Zoid Battle Commission. It is not made clear in the series if the Helic Republic and Guylos Empire still exist in this timeline, as no political factions are mentioned aside from the battle commission and the Backdraft. The series focuses on the Blitz Team, in particular the actions of the Liger Zero and Bit Cloud. The website "Anime News Network" claims New Century takes place 4000 years after the events of Chaotic Century, but does not cite a varifyable source. Plot The plot of New Century follows the actions of the Bit Cloud, starting with his employment as a member of the Blitz team. Each episode in the series highlights a battle that the Blitz team participate in. The DVD release of the show even had a special "battle" feature, where the viewer could just watch the fight in the episode. The Blitz team rise through the ranks, and clash against many tough opponents. Often, the team is forced to fight in unsanctioned battles governed by the Backdraft. During the process, the mystery of the Ultimate X is discovered. Characters Main characters :For detailed information, see each character's respective pages on the table provided below Other characters :The following is a list of characters who as of yet do not have a page * Oscar Hemeros: A good friend of Dr. Toros having grown up together with the joint ambition of entering the Zoid leagues, he had the misfortune of being the cause of the bitter feud between Dr. Toros and Dr. Layon. Oscar was supposed to write a love letter to a woman Dr. Layon was courting, but he didn't know that the note was supposed to be from Layon, and instead signed it "Steve Toros" by mistake. Oscar was one of the greatest aerial Zoid pilots in his day, earning his moniker "Wild Eagle" for his sheer mastery of aerial stunts and maneuvers. However, one day, he lost control of his Raynos and crashed. The accident forced him into early retirement from the leagues, though he still pilots aerial Zoids in more casual settings. He sent his son, Jamie, to join Dr. Toros' Blitz Team, believing that between him and Toros, they could bring out some of that Wild Eagle blood in Jamie. A misunderstanding earlier on in the Wild Eagle episode initially caused the main characters to believe he was dead and Jamie was an orphan. Japanese voice actor: Yukimasa Kishino; English voice actor: Brian Drummond. * Mary Champ: She is Harry's older sister who wants her brother to be married to an heiress instead of Leena. Having fallen in love with Bit's Liger Zero (according to her, it was 'cute'), she challenged the Blitz Team to a battle with the Liger Zero at stake, but she lost anyway. English voice actor: Lisa Ann Beley. * Sarah: A high ranking Backdraft member, and also Vega's handler. Though usually cold and severe, she exhibits a maternal side towards Vega; he is the only thing she really cares about. Even after being shot down by the Zoid Battle Commission, she was only worried about whether Vega was all right. English voice actor: Ellen Kennedy. * Captain Sanders: Stoller's subordinate and member of the Backdraft. He is a skilled pilot who looks up to Stoller and follows him when he defects from the Backdraft. Last seen celebrating the end of the Zoids tournament with Stoller and Pierce. English voice actor: Matt Smith. * Count: The supreme commander of the Backdraft. Little is known about him, aside from his role as the head of the Backdraft. English voice actor: Colin Murdock Deleted Scenes In Japan, there are different censorship laws to English-speaking nations, as such, several scenes present in the Japanese version were not allowed to be broadcast on most foreign TV networks. These scenes were cut out during localisation, to remove drug references, violent scenes (between characters), and any implied nudity or sexuality. *Episode 15: Dr. Layon is in a bar and drunk. *Episode 18: A Judge is lifting weights, and then shown in the shower (This is the episode where one of Harry Champ's robots falls in love with a judge. In the English version, the judge was female, but the Japanese version has it as male. Interestingly, Zoids Legacy left this judge as a "judgeman" like all the others.). *Episode 22: Harry's robots are shown rubbing each other with lotion at the beach (Again implying that the robots are gay). *Caesar The King: While not an actual scene, Liger Zero's armor for panzer was supposed to be called Caesar The King and was colored a vanilla color. It was a Panzer prototype, so the dub just recolored it to green and called it Panzer, since there is no model for Caesar The King. Trivia *The DVD release of Zoids New Century has a small "Easter egg"- by clicking on the small, white, left-hand trigger button at the menu screen, it is possible to view more Zoid and Pilot profiles than are normally available under the "Zoids Profiles" button. Zoids Zoids that are introduced for the first time in new century: * Berserk Fury * Demantis * Elephander * Hover Cargo * Liger Zero * Maccurtis * Raynos * Shadow Fox * Spino Sapper * Warshark * Zabat Episode listing *1. "Commence Battle - Attack Liger Zero" *2. "New Partners vs. Naomi the Red Comet" *3. "The Prince Arrives - Harry Champ" *4. "Unsanctioned Battle - The Mysterious Backdraft Group" *5. "High Speed Battle - Transforming into Zero Jager" *6. "The Dark Giant - The Invincible Elephander" *7. "The Desert Gang - The Hovercargo's in Danger" *8. "Invasion of the Fierce Tigers - Transform to Zero Schneider" *9. "The Princess Arrives - Mary Champ" *10. "Desert Tusk - Assault of the War Sharks" *11. "The Sensational Three - Rematch with Jack Cisco" *12. "Zero is Stolen - The Fiery Battle" *13. "The Brave Wild Eagle - The Raynos Vs The Zabat" *14. "Frightday the 13th" *15. "Laon Returns - Anti-gravity Catastrophe" *16. "The Red Rival - Leon Toros Returns" *17. "Warriors on Vacation - The Storm Sworders" *18. "Love on the Battlefield - My Love the Judge" *19. "The Third Conversion - Zero Panzer's Debut" *20. "The Shadow Fox - Brad's Betrayal" *21. "Harry's Disaster - Dr. Layon Traps Toros" *22. "The Dragon Under the Sea - In Search of the Ultimate X" *23. "The Dragon Awakens - The Berserk Fury Enters the Fray" *24. "The Tournament of Heroes - The Royal Cup" *25. "Survival - The Mystery of the Ultimate X" *26. "The Miracle of Zero - The Wind, The Cloud, and Adventure" Theme songs ;Opening *"No Future" by Nanase Aikawa "No Future" is the opening theme to Zoids: New Century Zero. It is performed by Aikawa Nanase, and was released on maxi-single January 2001 (with Dearest: my friend as the b-side). The original release of the single comes with an additional paper front piece showing the characters from /Zero, though the case itself has a picture of Aikawa Nanase. The full instrumental version (which was used as the US ending theme, as the dub did not use the original intro) is available only on the /Zero soundtrack, which was a limited release in 2001 and came packaged in a dual-CD sized case despite being a single disc. This may have been to make room for the Liger Zero gashapon-style keychain that was included as a bonus. ;Ending *"Sasuraibito" by DASEIN *"No Future (Instrumental)" by Nanase Aikawa (U.S. Ending) New Century Zero